The monster's hand lowered slowly, dripping blood onto the scorched earth. Each drop hissed like tiny explosions, steam curling into the already choking air. I couldn't move. My body refused. My father's blood clung to my skin, hot and wet, painting my arms, my chest, my hands—it wasn't just gore; it was a brutal truth etched into me. My innocence was gone, ripped from me in a heartbeat.
The cloaked figure turned. It wasn't fully human. Its limbs were too long, too fluid, too sharp—like shadows given shape. Its hood hung low, hiding the face, but two red sparkling glowling eyes gleamed from the darkness within.
When it spoke, the voice echoed like broken bells, ringing in my chest.
"Welcome… chosen child."
I stumbled back, heart hammering so violently it felt like it might tear from my chest. "W-What… what did you call me?" I whispered, my voice hollow, shaking.
"You are the seed of the old flame," it said, taking a step forward. The grass withered beneath its foot as if it were poison. "The one marked by fate. The boy of the Second Cycle."
It raised its clawed hand. The world seemed to warp in response. The air shimmered red, and the ground cracked beneath me. Portals ripped open in the sky like bleeding wounds, twisting ribbons of energy that churned and pulsed. From each portal, yokai monsters began to pour—some scaled, some with eyes where their mouths should have been, all snarling, all hungry.
Instinct surged through me. My hands gripped my dagger so tight I thought I might crush it. My legs moved before I could even think, carrying me toward the cliff where my father and I had awakened my mana core.
The figure didn't chase. It laughed, a sound that ripped through the forest like a blade.
"Run, little ember. You cannot escape destiny."
I ran. The forest became a blur of green and brown. Broken carts, burning fences, and scorched earth flew past me. My breaths came sharp and jagged. Tears burned my eyes, but I didn't slow. My father… gone. My mother and Ara… where were they?
The cliff's edge loomed ahead—the steep, rocky path shrouded in mist. My chest heaved as I stumbled forward. The monsters poured from the forest behind me, eyes glowing red, claws scraping stone, their howls twisting into one relentless roar.
I raised my dagger, trembling, hands shaking. "Stay back…" I whispered, voice barely audible. "I'm not afraid to fight—"
A loose stone betrayed me. My foot slid.
The world spun.
Wind ripped past my ears. Trees streaked into green and gray blurs. The dagger flew from my grasp, clattering against rocks I couldn't see.
Then—black.
No pain. No sensation. Only darkness. Silence.
And then… a sound. Faint, clear, impossibly pure. A single ding, like a bell ringing from another world.
A glowing screen shimmered into existence in the void, letters etched across it, pulsating with a strange, magnetic energy:
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
You are near death. Potential recognized. Do you wish to awaken, Jae Hoon?
[YES] / [NO]
My breath hitched. My fingers twitched instinctively. Somewhere deep inside, a spark stirred—a warmth, a pulse, a rhythm unlike my heartbeat, intertwining with it. I didn't understand. I didn't know what this meant.
But one thing was certain: I wasn't ready to die. Not like this. Not without answers. Not without justice. Not without revenge.
My lips parted in the void, trembling.
"…Yes."
The darkness exploded.
Light surged through me, searing and blinding, yet comforting. My lungs filled with air that tasted like fire and rain at once. My heart no longer beat alone—it was joined by something older, deeper, and more powerful. The pulse of mana, raw and wild, coursed through every nerve, every muscle, every bone.
The void dissolved into color, light, and motion. The forest reformed around me, but it wasn't the same forest. The portals still glowed above, the monsters still waiting—but now I felt… power.
The dagger reappeared in my hand, lighter yet sharper, humming with energy. My chest burned, but it was not pain—it was life, awakening.
A voice whispered in my mind, older than time, ancient as the forests themselves:
"Rise, child of the Second Cycle. Your story begins now."
I clenched my fists, teeth gritted, eyes ablaze. The red glow of the portals reflected in my pupils. The monsters were coming, but I didn't care.
I was no longer just a boy. I was Jae Hoon. Chosen. Awakened.
And I was ready.